So i totally disassembled the spare engine i got...

[newaccorddriver]

well, i had some time today to rip the engine completely apart. it is currently completely apart and in labelled ziplock bags and tupperware(they work slightly better then ziplocks, but not by much) so i wont have to sift through parts to find out whats what and what goes where.

i started off by taking off the cut up wiring harness and id be needing a new one soon enough. then i starting taking off the head, surprisingly the carbon encrusted ridge which is usually seen on virtually every dismantled engine was pretty much not there at all. once the head was off i drained the remaining coolant out which was close to none. after that i started taking off the oil pan. once the pan was off, i saw a shitload of metal shavings covering the bottom. i then took off the baffle on the bottom to find even more shavings. then i took a look at the block and saw even more shavings. this was starting to turn out into a bad day as it is... to my surprise and the kinda thing that has to be 'seen to believe' i took out the mains one by one and not one or two, but ALL the mains were spun. not a single one was spared at all, none...

after seeing those spun bearings, i took a look at the crank and i saw it got burned and scratched like hell. a micropolish/machining of the crank with the use of oversized bearings MIGHT be able to save it, but id need an experts opinion on that... i then took off the rod caps(whatever their called) one by one, and they all see pretty good, atleast those werent scorched or spun and atleast something was decent during the day. i then popped out each of the pistons, one by one only to find out that ALL the pistons were scored on the sides along with a few scratches on the cylinder walls along with a few copper colored spots which i assume it got burned or something, nothing a master rebuild kit and honing or boring wont fix.

i starting looking at the condition of the block itself and it didnt turn out too bad at all. just gotta take it to get cleaned/magnafluxed to make sure everything checked out good and itll be ready for assembly.

not too sure about the condition of the head, so i should probably get that magnafluxed as well, but it shouldnt be too bad as the valves and such still look to be in good shape.

after seeing all the stuff i saw today, i came to the conclusion that the engine that elijah gave me was either a dud from the factory, the original owner drove the car without oil and didnt maintain the car itself that well, or someone had rebuilt the engine at some point in time and didnt do a good job at it. im leaking towards the maintenance or the possible rebuild due to the fact that its a 20 year old engine and the kinda things i saw would have been caught shortly after the car got out of the factory. the cylinders also look like theyve been honed before as it doesnt have the typical glazing as well as the ridge on the top that most older engines have.


i also alot of pictures from the tear down so if someones willing to host them for me, id gladly send them to you

[MessyHonda]

just make a photobucket account... they can host lots of pics for free...sounds like you had a fun day...the disassembling part is the easyest. that motor sound bad...you can buy a car for as much as you are going to spend on that car. some ppl pick up 3rd gens for like 500-1000 and that is the whole car. you can take an engine out of thoes and then sell the shell

[88Accord-DX]

If you can't figure out the posting pics with photobucket. Let me know, I'll host them for you man... Not like I see enough engines during the day. :cheers:
Edit- send them to my e-mail addy link under my name.

[newaccorddriver]

just make a photobucket account... they can host lots of pics for free...sounds like you had a fun day...the disassembling part is the easyest. that motor sound bad...you can buy a car for as much as you are going to spend on that car. some ppl pick up 3rd gens for like 500-1000 and that is the whole car. you can take an engine out of thoes and then sell the shell


around here a typical 20 year old honda still sells for around 2500 asking. nobody really buys it but its hard to get one for cheap running or not. i already dumped 1k into my 5 speed swap with tools and stuff, and id like to keep my first car for sentimental reasons...

[MessyHonda]

around here a typical 20 year old honda still sells for around 2500 asking. nobody really buys it but its hard to get one for cheap running or not. i already dumped 1k into my 5 speed swap with tools and stuff, and id like to keep my first car for sentimental reasons...

that is alot of money for a honda. right here they are cheap and you can find them everyware. at the junkyard they have at least a dozen and some of them are rare. like the Se-i but they have alot of miles. well i also droped 1.4k into a JDM engine and trans, they have like 50k and so far i already blew a headhasket. i had have my car since i was 1 month old. now im 18 and my mom is going to give it to me. im not a ricer but i do want some performance mods for my car. my limit is 1k from my money. since i will need a car to go to college. also my mother got it for me since her car was rearened and then i was born and with the money she got a honda. im kinda piss cuz she told me that the sells man pushed her to buy. it was the regular Dx model with nothing powerd or Fuel injection. i wish i had fuel injection. the Lx-i is no bad at all. my car is also auto. il guess il keep it that way since when i finish i want my mother to keep it since its geting hard to pay 60 bucks at the pump for a full size mini van.

[newaccorddriver]

pics are loaded. thanks for the photobucket suggestion


http://s59.photobucket.com/albums/g303/newaccorddriver/Engine%20teardown%20process/


edit:just fixed the password thing i never knew about

[88Accord-DX]

Here is the pics. Where are the pics for the crank spun bearings?
I would like to comment on the whole picture, but missing that piece of the puzzle..


http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g303/newaccorddriver/Engine%20teardown%20process/IM000502.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g303/newaccorddriver/Engine%20teardown%20process/IM000489.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g303/newaccorddriver/Engine%20teardown%20process/IM000488.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g303/newaccorddriver/Engine%20teardown%20process/IM000487.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g303/newaccorddriver/Engine%20teardown%20process/IM000484.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g303/newaccorddriver/Engine%20teardown%20process/IM000483.jpg

[A18A]

id like to keep my first car for sentimental reasons...
i agree fully witchu, if i were rich id fix up my other car instead of the 1 i use now just coz its my 1st car :D

nice work on the engine, great fun there :D, head gasket looks the exact same as mine, prolly not though. good work ./

[gp02a0083]

the engine's seen better days, basically if u can feel the scores / scratches with ur fingernail its most likely that u can get them machines out but it depends on how deep they are , from what ur saying it might not be possable to get the crank re turned and a line bore done

[newaccorddriver]

just went out and took some more pictures of the mains/crank mains they should be uploaded shortly. im pretty sure the crank is gargabe now along with all the pistons. its mainly the blocks condition that im interested in as thats the most valuable part to me as of now

[newaccorddriver]

http://s59.photobucket.com/albums/g303/newaccorddriver/crank%20and%20main%20journals/


pictures are uploaded. shitty quality, but you should be able to make out most of the condition by those pictures taken.

theres a picture of a cylinder wall with some dicoloration. does anybody know what that is?

[AccordEpicenter]

id almost elect to get another shortblock if you could find one cheap, because honestly the crank is toast, i wouldnt reccomend machining it (machine work costs alot too) the cyls can be saved but it depends on how bad those journals are tore up, same with the main caps. If you got another fresh used shortblock you could just put new bearings in it and spec them out, make sure they are good and rock it as is

[88Accord-DX]

Well, hate to say it. By the looks of it, to save that block is going to cost a few dollars. When you have spun main bearings, it's almost a garantee the block will need lined bored. Call a machine shop to get some prices for saving that block & compare that too a junkyard block price. Sometimes it's cheaper to start with a good junkyard block.

[newaccorddriver]

how much does it cost to line bore, and what is it? from the looks of the mains and the caps, it doesnt look too bad as it stands. its going to cost me roughly $150 to clean/magnaflux the block. but im not sure how much machining it would cost

[newaccorddriver]

id almost elect to get another shortblock if you could find one cheap, because honestly the crank is toast, i wouldnt reccomend machining it (machine work costs alot too) the cyls can be saved but it depends on how bad those journals are tore up, same with the main caps. If you got another fresh used shortblock you could just put new bearings in it and spec them out, make sure they are good and rock it as is


im almost sure the crank is garbage just by looking at it cause i can feel the scores with my finger nail. the journals and main caps actually look to be in fairly good condition. im not sure if its actually possible to machine those journals and use oversized bearings as its usually the crank that ses that kinda bearings

[AccordEpicenter]

machine work adds up fast. Finding a solid non trashed motor is less expensive and less work/worrying in the long run. I got an entire 160k engine and tranny a20a3 (88 lxi) and it was in good shape for $150... if you search the boneyards or know somebody parting out a car you can score these engines for cheap cheap, make sure it wasnt overheated or ran out/low on oil, you dont want another damaged block.

[newaccorddriver]

Well, hate to say it. By the looks of it, to save that block is going to cost a few dollars. When you have spun main bearings, it's almost a garantee the block will need lined bored. Call a machine shop to get some prices for saving that block & compare that too a junkyard block price. Sometimes it's cheaper to start with a good junkyard block.

it might actually be cheaper to get another junkyard block, but its almost impossible for me to go get one cause i had a hard enough time transporting the current one i have. they cost roughly $150 to buy the complete engine which isnt bad, but its going to be a bitch for me when i go there and buy a crank only cause id be stuck under a car all day long

[88Accord-DX]

how much does it cost to line bore, and what is it? from the looks of the mains and the caps, it doesnt look too bad as it stands. its going to cost me roughly $150 to clean/magnaflux the block. but im not sure how much machining it would cost
Line boing is machine work that removes a little metal on the main bearing journals. It cleans up the pits made from the spun bearings & lines up the crank journals.
Price of line boring varies, should be around $130-$175. The machine shop will give you the size of udersized main bearings you need to buy. If your rod bearings are spun too, then you need your rods reconditioned also.

[newaccorddriver]

Line boing is machine work that removes a little metal on the main bearing journals. It cleans up the pits made from the spun bearings & lines up the crank journals.
Price of line boring varies, should be around $130-$175. The machine shop will give you the size of udersized main bearings you need to buy. If your rod bearings are spun too, then you need your rods reconditioned also.


wouldnt you be needing oversized bearings rather then undersized bearings as you would be taking metal off?

[newaccorddriver]

machine work adds up fast. Finding a solid non trashed motor is less expensive and less work/worrying in the long run. I got an entire 160k engine and tranny a20a3 (88 lxi) and it was in good shape for $150... if you search the boneyards or know somebody parting out a car you can score these engines for cheap cheap, make sure it wasnt overheated or ran out/low on oil, you dont want another damaged block.


i dont know of anybody other then elijah which drive a 3g and with the junkyard engines its really a gamble when it comes to choosing an engine.

[88Accord-DX]

wouldnt you be needing oversized bearings rather then undersized bearings as you would be taking metal off?
Yeah, if you get another crank, then you need oversized bearings after you line bore the block. (used to having the crank turned on line boring for undersized)

[newaccorddriver]

Yeah, if you get another crank, then you need oversized bearings after you line bore the block. (used to having the crank turned on line boring for undersized)

im not quite sure i get this statement. can you further explain, its been almost a year since i rebuilt an engine.

i always figured if you machined the crank then you need oversized bearings. never knew about needing undersized bearings(or even that they existed) for when i line bore the journals

[88Accord-DX]

When you turn the crank to a smaller diameter, you use undersized bearings. When the block is line bored, you use oversized bearings.

[newaccorddriver]

When you turn the crank to a smaller diameter, you use undersized bearings. When the block is line bored, you use oversized bearings.


its slowly coming back to me. apparently a local forum told me of a good machining shop in the city that includes line boring with their hot tanking and such. they dont magnaflux though, they do something else for cracks. everything they do is fairly priced as well, but i will get a quote and ask them on the spot as well to make sure they dont 'lure' me in

[88Accord-DX]

Yeah, don't let a machine shop "lure" you in by anything they say. Check their reputation as a machine shop.

[88Accord-DX]

Double Post!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[newaccorddriver]

Yeah, don't let a machine shop "lure" you in by anything they say. Check their reputation as a machine shop.


ive decided that im going to the machine shop where my local tuners forum say are good. ive only read one bad review on it, but it was actually about them buying him an entire kit when he only needed one part. asides from that, theyve got excellent reviews. the only problem is when i went to check out the hours at night, a hooker almost jumped into my car. its on a very bad part of town...

[newaccorddriver]

considering how bad my spare engine is, im considering buying an engine hoist and taking my current accord engine out and rebuilding that. it should be good considering it ran pretty well when i was still using it. shouldnt have spun bearings or anything at all, and the block is actually clean with the exception of the 3 oil leaks i found. i just dont wanna take it apart only to find its screwed up like the other one...

[Vanilla Sky]

if you weren't that far away, i have a spare i'm more than willing to sell. too bad i'm like 2000 miles away.

and i'm kind of afraid of shops that are in bad areas. i'm always afraid i'll be mugged when i'm there doing business.

[newaccorddriver]

i'm kind of afraid of shops that are in bad areas. i'm always afraid i'll be mugged when i'm there doing business.



i wont be mugged. ill risk ahving a hooker come up to me asking for sex. they do terrific work and nobody really complains about bad work or anything. its just in a bad area where hookers are known to be around